Hydro poles in middle of road baffle residents

MONTREAL—Residents of the picturesque town of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield have been left scratching their heads after three utility poles were left in the middle of redesigned intersections.

“It’s the ugliest thing we’ve seen in Valleyfield. Have you ever seen something like this before?” asked one resident of the small town south-west of Montreal.

Locals who drive the stretch of impacted road say it's baffling. The area was under construction in August and while the work is now largely complete, motorists have a lot to say about the left-over poles from Hydro-Quebec.

“They need to move them,” said resident Jonathan Chiasson. “They should have moved them before putting in the new road.”

The mayor of Valleyfield said that it simply took Hydro-Quebec too long to remove the poles from the recently rebuilt area. Even though the work was done, the poles couldn't be moved by the municipality.

“It's too slow, it has been six months and they were advised six months ago. Why does it take six months to remove three posts?” asked Valleyfield Mayor Denis Lapointe.

Hydro-Quebec blames the city and the need to coordinate with other utilities.

A similar situation was discovered over the weekend when residents complained about a pole in the centre of Highway 251 in the Eastern Townships. That pole was in the centre of traffic for two months before it was quickly removed.

“When they're going to remove the pole, they’re going to backfill the hole with concrete. So in one year it's going to be a big hole right in the middle of the street,” said Valleyfield resident Patrick Clement.

Bad communication, lack of planning, mixed messages, it's hard to get anyone to say who’s really at fault, but blame aside, people want these poles gone before Christmas and snow makes navigating this obstacle course more difficult.

Photos

A hydro pole in the middle of a road has baffled Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que. residents.

Construction crews moved a road, but left this utility poll smack in the middle. (Nov. 19, 2012)